


Lady du Cœur

by PotterheadAvengerDemigod



Series: Paon Bleu [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Don't hurt Adrien, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, I would say I regret this, I'm tired, Identity Reveal, Paon Bleu, Secret Identity, but I kinda don't..., bye, hoping that i'll eventually get around to part 3 of this arc, idk - Freeform, mama agreste - Freeform, protective mama bear, random foreshadowing, whoo tags, why am i still tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 22:12:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6257833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotterheadAvengerDemigod/pseuds/PotterheadAvengerDemigod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I should have guessed; I mean, Adrien's always looked at both of you the same way."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lady du Cœur

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! Hopefully (with some luck), I'll get around to completing part III of this series :)

It takes Adrien a lot longer than he’d expected to wrap his mind around the fact that his Maman was a superhero, although it helps that Plagg and Kyaa seem to be the best of friends. The two kwami spend almost every hour they can together, floating around and chatting, although Adrien sometimes catches their expressions sobering as their voices take on darker tones, discussing what he thinks must be the same issue that they’d discussed the very first time Adrien caught his Maman de-transforming.

He knows that it was something along the lines of a darker magic, but at the time he’d been too busy comprehending his Maman’s identity to pay much attention to their conversation. He itches to know what has the two kwami so serious, but every time he gets within earshot of their conversation they abruptly switch topics, and Plagg is stubbornly tight-lipped whenever Adrien raises the topic.

Given the amount of time Plagg and Kyaa are now spending around each other, though Adrien isn’t particularly surprised when Tikki seeks him out during break the next day, after ensuring that Marinette isn’t within hearing distance. Adrien kind of feels bad about keeping Paon Bleu’s identity from her; ever since they found out about each other’s identities, there haven’t been any secrets between the two, but he knows that that isn’t his secret to share, no matter how much he wants to. He trusts Marinette with his life -and more importantly, his heart-, and although he knows that she can keep a secret -she’s a better secret keeper than  _ him _ , even-, but this is one thing that his Maman should probably tell herself, and he’ll keep her identity safe, just like he’ll do with Marinette’s.

“Adrien?” Tikki asks, flitting around to land on his shoulder after ensuring that Marinette’s not around. “I know you know who Paon Bleu is, and I know that Kyaa’s been spending a lot of time around Plagg now, he keeps me updated somewhat, but that annoying cat is pretty inconsistent, and I’d really like to be able to join the conversation. Do you think you could ask Marinette over to your house, and I don’t know, introduce her to your mother while I go to talk to Plagg and Kyaa?”

Adrien shrugs. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

* * *

 

Marinette heads over to Adrien’s house on his request that day, although he doesn’t use Tikki’s excuse of introducing her to his Maman -he doesn’t need to explain why he wants her to come over to his house, she already does that often enough anyway.

He just drags her up to his room and switches on the gigantic screen he has, Ultimate Mecha Strike III already cued. He tosses her a game controller and picks one up himself, catching Tikki and Plagg speeding out of the room out of the corner of his eye.

That’s the last Adrien sees of their kwamis for a while, although he isn’t particularly worried, because he can feel Plagg’s presence in the back of his mind, that constant pull that he’s so used to.

It’s also that pull that interrupts his game against Marinette, causing him to lose -not that he stood a chance against her, really-, when Plagg’s voice abruptly echoes in his mind, yelling about a new akuma.

Adrien rolls his eyes. It’s just his luck that an akuma attacks just when he’s relaxing and enjoying his time alone with Marinette.

Honestly, he should have expected it, he  _ is  _ the embodiment of bad luck, after all.

Marinette falters in the midst of her celebratory dance as Tikki comes zooming back into the room, dragging Plagg by the tail as the kwami pouts and purposefully hunkers down, trying to makes himself as much of a deadweight as possible.

“Marinette!” Tikki squeaks, rushing over to the girl. “Akuma!”

“What? Where?”

“Near the collège, it’s a kid with electrical manipulation,” Tikki explains.

Adrien and Marinette don’t doubt the kwami’s words; they know that their kwamis are far more sensitive to magical going-ons compared to them.

Adrien raises a fist, silver ring glistening in the light as he calls, “Plagg, transformez moi!”

The black cat kwami is still sulking when he reluctantly gets sucked into the Miraculous, green light suffusing throughout the room and mixing with pink as Marinette undergoes her own transformation.

A moment later both Ladybug and Chat Noir are leaping out of Adrien’s bedroom window, speeding off to  Collège Françoise Dupont to handle the Akuma.

They don’t see the soft flash of blue light from one of the windows in the Agreste Manor that appears behind them.

* * *

 

When Ladybug and Chat Noir appear on scene, they are thankful to note that the school has pretty much evacuated, although there weren’t many people to begin with -it was after school hours, and the only people around were the staff and students who stayed back for extra lessons.

Cowering in a corner is the purple-haired Ms. Mendeleiev, arms wrapped over her head as the Akuma, a boy that looks to be about thirteen. The skin around his eyes is a darkened shade of purplish-pink, and his hair is a mess of yellow with blue highlights, standing straight up like he stuck his fingers into an electrical outlet. He wears close-fitting jeans with electrical burns arcing across them, and he has on a sleeveless white vest and elbow-length black gloves, the hems of which are jagged and edged in white, the reverse true of his vest. Tucked into his waistband is a physics textbook, the occasional arc of electricity zapping across the paper. The boy’s hands are glowing white with controlled electrical energy, sparking and blindingly bright.

The by was snarling at Ms. Mendeleiev, features pulled into a feral expression.

“You say I don’t understand physics? That I don’t pay attention in class and that’s why I’ll never get this chapter on electricity? Well, Ms. Mendeleiev, let me show you  _ voltage _ .”

The boy pulls back a hand and is about to strike Ms. Mendeleiev when Chat pounces, knocking the Physics teacher out of the way and standing in her place.

“Wow,” Chat begins, grin growing and gesturing to the balls of white in the Akuma’s hands. “That looks like it  _ hertz. _ I’d hate to have to  _ charge _ you for assault and  _ battery _ .”

Ladybug groans and facepalms just as the Akuma lets out a frustrated growl and sends a bolt of electricity towards the black-clad hero, who nimbly dodges, dancing out of the way.

The red-clad heroine leaps into the fray, her bandalore whipping towards the akuma and falling short as the boy backs up abruptly.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir,” the boy muses. “How nice of you to show up on time. Now hand over your Miraculous and I may just let you live!”

“Well, we’ve all heard that one before,” Chat mocks. “Can’t come up with anything more  _ current _ ? I’m  _ positive  _ you can do better than that!”

“Chat…” Marinette sighs, a fondly exasperated smile pulling at her lips as she tries her hardest not to facepalm.

“Enough!” The akuma screams, and then a bolt of pure electricity comes speeding toward Chat, too fast for the feline to do more than stare, unable to raise his staff in time to deflect the blow.

His eyes widen as the electricity comes ever closer, and Ladybug’s too far to do anything but stare in horror.

Then there’s a blur of blue, and a glowing blue shield spins to life in front of him, the blur resolving itself into the familiar visage of  _ Paon Bleu _ .

“Not my son, you monster!” The woman grits out under her breath, just loud enough for Adrien to hear.

And suddenly there are tears in his eyes, and it’s all he can do not to just grab his Maman and pull her into a hug. Instead, he blinks back the emotion and pushes it to the back of his mind temporarily, darting out of the line of fire and to his Lady’s side.

“What’s the plan, my Lady?” He asks, shaking the red-suited girl out of her shock at seeing the other heroine jump in.

“Give me a minute, Chat, let me thi-”

That’s when the akuma falters in his attack, Hawk Moth’s butterfly mask glowing around his eyes as the villain communicates with his latest slave.

Then Marinette and Adrien see something they’ve never seen before.

The akuma’s eyes cloud over, and when he next opens his mouth, it isn’t the raspy, cracking voice of the preteen boy. It’s a deep, bone-chilling bass, eerie, but somehow layered with shock and a little hope.

It’s Hawk Moth’s voice.

“ _ P-Paon Bleu? _ ” The villain’s voice stutters, and then the akuma is collapsing, the physics textbook at his waist returning to it’s usual colour as Hawk Moth relinquishes his hold on the boy and the akuma flutters out of the textbook.

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir are stunned at the turn of events, but have enough presence of mind to remember their jobs.

Ladybug flicks open the top of her bandalore, swinging it upwards and trapping the akuma.

Too shocked to truly shout her catchphrase with any of the gusto she usually had, she finds herself murmuring, “I free you from evil,” under her breath, out of pure habit.

The white butterfly flutters out of her bandalore as Marinette watches it go, whispering a soft goodbye.

She holds out a fist for a celebratory fistbump, and Adrien meets her halfway.

“Mission accomplished,” they chorus, and  _ Paon Bleu _ is looking at them in amusement, a smile tugging at her lips.

The other heroine turns her eyes skywards, gaze tracking the white butterfly until it flies out of sight. There is confusion in her gaze, and her lips are forming a word, the same word over and over again. “ _ Papillon _ ?”

Ladybug purses her lips before heading over to the woman. “Thank you for the help. I-I can’t afford to lose Chat, you know. He’s more than my partner, he’s my best friend. So th-thanks for saving his life.”

The woman smiles softly. “You’re welcome, Ladybug. Saving people  _ is _ my job.”

Then the woman frowns. “What was that, though? I’ve never seen anything like it. And what was that butterfly about?”

It’s Ladybug’s turn to frown as she narrows her eyes. “You’ve never seen an Akuma before?”

“No,” the woman answers, shaking her head. “I was out of town for a while before this, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything of the like.”

That’s when Chat joins in. “An Akuma is a black butterfly sent by Hawk Moth, whose kind of the ultimate bad guy, to possess people and bend them to his will. He feels their negative energy, when they’re angry or sad, and sends out an Akuma to make use of those feelings. He’ll promise the person revenge on whoever wronged them, in exchange for one thing. Our Miraculous.”

“This time was weird though,” Ladybug says, exchanging glances with Chat. “The Akumas don’t ever come out by themselves. We always have to destroy whatever object the Akuma is residing in before it appears, and then I have to purify it. I’ve never seen Hawk Moth relinquish control of an Akuma before.”

“I think the question’s more of how does he know you,” Chat cuts in, staring at Madeleine, not accusing, but genuinely curious.

Paon Bleu shakes her head. “I don’t know, Chat Noir. But that butterfly, the white one that flew away after you purified the Akuma… If I’m right, that was one of my partner’s butterflies. Back when I first started protecting Paris, I worked with another hero to protect Paris. A Miraculous holder, like us. The purple Miraculous, the butterfly Miraculous. His name was Papillon. I’ve been looking for him ever since I returned to Paris, but I can’t find him, and my kwami can’t feel his presence, can’t feel the presence of his kwami.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchange glances before turning back to Paon Bleu. “Sorry, but we’ve never heard of him.”

The other heroine just smiles wanly, nodding. “I didn’t expect you to have.”

Then she turns and darts off.

The two teens wait till her silhouette fades, and then Marinette turns to Adrien, a frown already in place, visible even under the mask.

“Did you  _ have  _ to provoke him like that, Chat? He could have easily killed you if Paon Bleu hadn’t arrived when she did.”

Adrien rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, eyes guilty and apologetic.

The other hero sighs before pulling him into a tight hug, pressing a light peck to his cheek and whispering, “I can’t lose you, you know. You’re one of the most important people in my life.”

His arms tighten around his girlfriend, and he kisses her gently on the forehead. “You’re the most important person in my life too.”

Marinette smiles as Adrien presses one last kiss to her forehead before pulling away, murmuring, “We should probably head back before Nathalie comes looking for us.”

The two take to the rooftops, leaping away towards Agreste Manor, jibing and teasing each other the entire way back.

* * *

 

“Maman?” Adrien calls as he pulls Marinette out of his room. He does actually want Marinette to meet his Maman, and isn’t doing it solely because Tikki’d suggested it. He remembers that day a few years back when he’d showed Marinette (well, Ladybug, since he didn’t know who she was at that point in time) a picture of his Maman, and he stands by what he’d said then:  _ You have her smile. _

Marinette really did have his Maman’s smile, that soft, loving twist at the corners of her mouth when she was happy, the soft quirk of those rosy lips when she was hiding a laugh, the smile reaching her eyes and making the blue even more pronounced, glimmering with joy and mirth, and Adrien swears she’s never so beautiful as she is when she smiles.

Her smile could light up a room, he thinks, and he knows that’s a cliche, but he’s never come across anything truer than that statement. Her smile brightened even his most miserable days.

“Maman?” He calls again, and this time his Maman’s blonde head peeks out from behind a door, smile on her lips and green eyes sparkling as she gazes upon her son. (Her grown-up son, her beautiful boy, she missed so many years of his life, of his ascent into young adulthood.)

“Yes,  _ mon cheri _ ?”

Adrien guides Marinette to stand beside him, draping an arm casually over her shoulder and leaning into her.

“Maman,” he starts, pearly whites flashing as he grins. “This is my girlfriend, Marinette.”

Marinette barely stops herself from dropping into a curtsy, as elegant and regal as the woman before her is. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Agreste.”

The woman laughs, placing a warm hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “Please, call me Madeleine. Adrien’s told me a lot about you.”

Marinette shoots Adrien a startled look, flushing when Madeleine adds, “All good things. You make my son very happy, and thank you for being there for him when I couldn’t.”

Both Adrien and Marinette flush simultaneously, exchanging glances while Madeleine chuckles softly.

That’s when what looks like a blue ball hits the woman in the side, and then the object stills, and Marinette sees that it’s a blue feathered, bird like creature, covered in a downy coat of blue-green feathers and with a small crown of larger feather adorning it’s forehead, two wispy feathers sprouting from the crown of its head and a fan of peacock feathers trailing down around its legs and forming a skirt.

“Madeleine!” The bird-thing calls in a high, panicked voice.

Marinette stares openly at the creature.

“What-” she starts. “What is that?”

Said creature stares back at her, squeaking in shock as if it hadn’t noticed her previously. Madeleine is looking back and forth between her and the bird-thing, apprehension written all over her face.

Then recognition sets in.

It looks like a kwami. A kwami for a bird-themed hero.  _ Paon Bleu’s  _ kwami.

Paon Bleu, who’d only jumped into the fight earlier when Chat Noir was in danger. Paon Bleu, who had blonde hair and green eyes. Paon Bleu, who said once that she’d been away from Paris for a long time.

And Madeleine Agreste, who was Adrien Agreste’s mother. Madeleine Agreste, who had blonde hair and green eyes. Madeleine Agreste, who had just returned to Paris barely a week before, when they had first seen Paon Bleu.

Madeleine Agreste, who was now cradling her kwami in her palms, who was looking at her with a sort of horror, a sort of reluctant acceptance.

Madeleine Agreste, who was Paon Bleu.

Marinette turns to Adrien, and instead of seeing that shovked expression that she expects, sees acceptance and expectation.

“You knew,” she says, and it’s not a question.

Adrien nods. “I found out that first night, when I came back home and saw Maman drop her transformation.”

Marinette holds Adrien’s gaze for a moment longer, then nods. She’s not angry with Adrien for not telling her -she understands his reasoning; it’s not his secret to tell.

“She knows who I am,” Adrien says abruptly, and neither Madeleine nor Marinette is a hundred percent sure who he’s speaking to, but the sentence serves it’s purpose.

“That’s why you seemed so protective of Chat,” Marinette starts, only slap a hand over her mouth at the slip -Madeleine didn’t know she was Ladybug yet, although Marinette had been considering telling her.

Madeleine smiles warmly. “So you’re Ladybug, then. I had my suspicions -Adrien acted the same way around both of you.”

Said boy rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, grinning lopsidedly. “Was I that obvious?”

“Yes,” comes the resounding reply.

Adrien flushes, a shy smile spreading across his features as the other two laugh.

Then Madeleine suddenly remembers her kwami, who had been so panicked that she’d actually blown her cover, although thankfully not to anyone who couldn’t keep a secret.

“Kyaa?” She asks, cradling the blue kwami in her palms. “What did you want to tell me?”

Kyaa shakes her head in distress, amber eyes teary as the other two kwamis sense her feelings and flit up to her side.

“I-I,” the kwami stammers. “I managed to locate Abett’s -Papillon’s kwami- magic signature. I-I think I can find him b-but he doesn’t feel okay, h-he feels sick, s-something’s wrong, Madeleine, there’s something wrong with him!”

Tikki and Plagg and exchanging worried glances, the black cat kwami completely serious for once, all joking gone from his features as he absorbs the other kwami’s words. It takes a lot to get a kwami unwell, and the fact that it was bad enough that it affected their magic signature…

Tikki lays a small hand on Kyaa’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Kyaa, everything’s going to be fine. We’ll find Abett, and we’ll help him, okay? Everything will be fine.”

The peacock kwami nods, fear still running rampant in her eyes, but she takes a deep breath and steels herself, looking back at Tikki.

“Okay,” she says, and that’s that.


End file.
